WILLIAMSBURG — William & Mary men’s tennis celebrated Senior and Alumni Day with a 5-2 win over Presbyterian on Saturday afternoon at the Mackesy Tennis Center.
After dropping the doubles point to open the match, W&M (12-9) won five of six singles contests to pull out the team triumph. Graduate students Satchel Benn (No. 1) and Konstantinos Raptis (No. 2), sophomore Albert Hansen (No. 5) and freshman Oliver Hague (No. 3) posted singes wins in the victory.
Prior to the match, W&M honored its graduating class of Satchel Benn, Bill Duo, Alexandre Leblanc, and Konstantinos Raptis for their contributions to the program. The Tribe also welcomed back its alums on Saturday, including celebrating the 1999 team in between singles and doubles on the 25th anniversary of earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
How It Happened
- Benn and Hague won their 12th-straight match at No. 2 doubles, but Presbyterian (7-13) took the initial point of the match behind wins at No. 1 and No. 3. The Tribe tandem moved to 17-5 on the season.
- Due to an incomplete lineup, the Tribe pulled even with a forfeit win at No. 6 singles.
- Hansen quickly put the Tribe on top with a win at No. 5. The Tribe sophomore dominated in a 6-0 first set win over Austin Skoog, before the Blue Hose player retired due to injury. Hansen improved to 14-9 on the year with his second-straight win. He is 8-4 at No. 5.
- After a Presbyterian win at No. 4 singles, Benn and Hague put the finishing touches on the Tribe victory by claiming tiebreaker second sets on adjoining courts at No. 1 and No. 3.
- Benn won his second straight at the top singles post to give W&M a 3-2 lead. After winning the opening set, 6-4, Benn trailed Javier Matos by an early break in the second, but rallied for force a tiebreaker and pulled out the win, 7-6 (6). It was his 18th win of the season and he improved to 11-7 in duals at the top three positions.
- Hague extended his singles winning streak to four matches and clinched the Tribe victory. He topped Pedro Cardoso, 6-3, 7-6 (5), at No. 3 to up his team-leading singles mark to 23-9. He is 14-5 in dual-match play.
- Raptis put the finishing touches on the regular-season finale by rallying for a three-set win at over David Mamalat at No. 2. After the Blue Hose player won the first set, 7-5, the Tribe graduate student dropped just two games the rest of the way, wining 6-0, 6-2. The victory was Raptis’s third in a row as he won his 16th overall and 10th in dual-match action.
Up Next
The Tribe will host the 2024 CAA Men’s Tennis Championship, April 18-21, at the Mackesy Tennis Center. Seeding for the event will be released on Monday with action kicking off with three matches on Thursday, April 18, starting at 9 a.m.
William & Mary 5, Presbyterian 2
Singles
No. 1 – Satchel Benn (W&M) def. Javier Matos (PC) – 6-4, 7-6 (6)
No. 2 – Konstantinos Raptis (W&M) def. David Mamalat (PC) – 5-7, 6-0, 6-2
No. 3 – Oliver Hague (W&M) def. Pedro Cardoso (PC) – 6-3, 7-6 (5)
No. 4 – Evgenios Vasilakis (PC) def. Bill Duo (W&M) – 6-4, 6-2
No. 5 – Albert Hansen (W&M) def. Austin Skoog (PC) – 6-0, retired
No. 6 – W&M wins by default
Finishing Order: 6, 5, 4, 1, 3*, 2
Doubles
No. 1 – Matos/Vasilakis (PC) def. Duo/Raptis (W&M) – 6-1
No. 2 – Benn/Hague (W&M) def. Skoog/Yadav (PC) – 6-2
No. 3 – Cardoso/Mamalat (PC) def. Karman/Joseph (W&M) – 7-5
Finishing Order: 2, 1, 3*
